The company will be the big winner in an overall surge in consumer-electronics sales this season, according to the report, which predicts that consumer electronics will sell better than many experts expect. In a November survey of 2,812 U.S. consumers, more than 26% of respondents say they'd spend more on consumer electronics over the next 90 days, which represents a jump of 9 percentage points from last month and 3 percentage points from the same period a year ago, according to the report.

ChangeWave expects Apple's popularity to drive laptop demand. Ten percent of those polled expect to buy a laptop in the next 90 days, the highest level in three years, and 36% of those potential buyers -- representing an 11-percentage-point jump from another survey a month ago -- say they'll purchase a Mac.

But PC sales will be hurt by the huge demand for the Mac, according to the report. The percentage of buyers who say they will purchase a Dell (DELL) laptop has dropped 4 percentage points since last month to 19% this month, its lowest level ever. The percentage of buyers planning to buy an HP (HPQ) laptop also fell 4 percentage points to 22%, ChangeWave says.

Meanwhile, Apple tablets, e-readers and home electronics also appear to be poised for strong sales. For example, 9% of those surveyed expect to buy an iPad in the next 90 days, compared with only 4% for the Amazon (AMZN) Kindle and 2% for other e-readers.

Not all indicators are up. While a higher number of respondents said they'd spend more on consumer electronics this season, even more of those polled -- 29% -- said they'd spend less. Without Apple, holiday consumer-electronics sales might have bombed.